Haley Tholen, Ph.D. is an electrochemical research engineer in the renewable energy group, where she contributes to the development and scale-up of next-generation electrochemical energy materials and devices. Her role involves designing and implementing experimental and data-driven methods to evaluate performance, stability, and scalability, with a particular emphasis on transitioning promising lab-scale technologies toward practical prototypes.

Tholen has broad expertise spanning computational modeling, machine learning, and experimental validation. Her previous research at Pennsylvania State University advanced the design of soft-material power sources, integrating finite element modeling, data-driven optimization, and digital logic-based control to improve performance, scalability, and autonomy. She also pioneered applications of mechanical computing with soft, stimuli-responsive materials, establishing new frameworks for compliant power management and fully soft logic systems.

Tholen holds a B.S. in engineering mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.